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Increasing Entrepreneurship Among Graduate Physics Students

Increasing Entrepreneurship Among Graduate Physics Students. Prof. T. Venkatesan National University of Singapore and Neocera, Inc . APS Workshop on Physics Graduate Education, College Park Jan. 30-Feb.1, 2008. Early Stage Career Planning for Students. Helping students identify their

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Increasing Entrepreneurship Among Graduate Physics Students

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  1. Increasing Entrepreneurship Among Graduate Physics Students Prof. T. Venkatesan National University of Singapore and Neocera, Inc. APS Workshop on Physics Graduate Education, College Park Jan. 30-Feb.1, 2008

  2. Early Stage Career Planning for Students Helping students identify their • Strengths • Weaknesses • Areas to which they are inherently attracted to • Eliminating areas that do not match with their interest or skills • Eventually narrowing their target zone so that they can develop a focused strategy • In this process identify candidates who have potential for entrepreneurship

  3. Reasons why having Entrepreneurial Faculty is Key “For a young person to become an entrepreneur a change in their mind set is needed, and this can be provided by their immediate environment” Case study: Prof. Venkatesan Group Total Number of PhDs: 24 Career choices after PhD • Academia: 8 • Industrial and National Labs Research:8 • Entrepreneurs:8 Close to one thirds became entrepreneurs! The Professor as a role model is the most effective catalyst Other recent examples: Amnon Yariv (Caltech), John Woolam (Nebraska), Steve Forrest (Princeton/ Michigan)…….

  4. Entrepreneurs from Venkatesan Group Entrepreneurs: • Xindi Wu-CEO, C-Nanofibers, Inc. ( Also VP Biz Dev Sicive, Cable-wireless, Exodus Comm) • Chris Doughty-CEO, Varionix, Inc. • RD Vispute, CEO, Blue Wave Semiconductors • Vitaly Talyanski-CTO, Stardust Technologies • Arun Inam-Partner-Signal Lake Ventures (Also VP Biz Dev Motorola) • Barun Deb Datta-CTO, Alta-Berkeley Ventures • Zoran Trajanovic-Mckenzie Consultants, headed different high tech startups • Zhiyun Chen-Pixelligent Technologies • Andreas Walkenhorst- Own Patent Law Firm in Germany Industry Leaders: • Sining Mao, VP for Research, Western Digital • Santanu Bhattacharya, Director of AOL’s India Research

  5. Physics Dept: Key Steps to Take • Need Entrepreneurial Faculty members • A Department must have at least two members who have • a) Experience in starting companies • b) Sustaining the company over some period of time • c) Raising capital • d) Have outstanding University Research programs

  6. In the absence of such Faculty members • Have as adjunct faculty the following: • a) Successful entrepreneurial Physicists with good research track record • b) Research managers in corporations who oversee intrapreneurial activities within the corporation • c) Part time faculty from other schools who have been successful entrepreneurs • d) They must be able to setup an exciting research program in the department

  7. Changes to Departmental Courses • Seminars by entrepreneurs-personal experience • Business 101 course taught by an entrepreneurial faculty Capital formation Structuring a venture Business model Intellectual property Understanding P&L, Balance sheet Understanding SBIRS, BAA and other govt. funding sources…. • Engineering course on design and basic manufacturing • Globalization and its economic implications It is important that these course content be reviewed by an entrepreneur

  8. Managing Conflict of Interest • Have a COI team consisting of: • Department Chairs, • Dean, • Asst to President • Create a transparent interaction with the entrepreneurial faculty • Each case must be carefully recorded and the actions documented for future reference

  9. SUMMARY • Get on board entrepreneurial faculty • Establish early career counseling • Establish a few Business and engineering based courses • Expose students to entrepreneurs-real world • Effectively manage COI, actively and not reactively • Highlight success stories

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